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Collection Veterans History Project Collection

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Veterans History Project Service Summary:

  • Service History Note: The veteran served as Special Assistant to the Commanding General, United States Army Pacific. He was injured by a roadside bomb attack in Baghdad.
  • War or Conflict: Peacekeeping forces--Bosnia and Hercegovina; Iraq War, 2003-2011; Afghan War, 2001-; Persian Gulf War, 1991
  • Branch of Service: Army
  • Unit of Service: 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment; Chief of Operations, Multinational Division North; 5th Battalion, 18th Field Artillery, III Corps; 82nd Airborne Division; 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment; 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment; 2nd Battalion, 11th Field Artillery; 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division; 75th Field Artillery Brigade, 25th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division
  • Location of Service: Afghanistan; Saudi Arabia; Bosnia-Herzegovina; Alexandria, Virginia; Fort Shafter, Hawaii; Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Fort Sill, Oklahoma; Fort Belvoir, Virginia
  • Highest Rank: Colonel

View full service history

"That forged hardship that we went through [at West Point] and the common sacrifice, especially as athletes, especially as football players, that we went through has formed a lifelong bond" (video interview, 00:06:35.0).

Gregory Gadson admits that he decided to attend West Point solely "to prove...that I could compete in college football at the highest level" (00:05:46.0). Nevertheless, commissioned in early 1990 as a 2nd Lt., Gadson found himself deployed to Saudi Arabia as part of Operation Desert Shield. Gadson would experience four more combat deployments over the ensuing 16 years. In Iraq in 2007, Colonel Gadson was severely wounded by an I.E.D. He credits his faith in God and his West Point ties with saving his life. During his long recovery in 2007 and 2008, a West Point classmate recommended him to the New York Giants. After speaking to the team, he was invited back as the Honorary Team Captain and remained on the sidelines with the Giants through their Super Bowl wins in 2008 and again in 2012.

Transcript: XML

About this Item

Title

  • Gregory Dimitri Gadson Collection

Names

  • Durand, Judith
  • Gadson, Gregory Dimitri
  • DAJDPR / New York Institute of Technology
  • Williams, Daryl

State of Birth

  • VA

Home State

  • VA

Headings

  • -  Gadson, Gregory Dimitri
  • -  Peacekeeping forces -- Bosnia and Hercegovina -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.
  • -  Iraq War, 2003-2011 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.
  • -  Afghan War, 2001- -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.
  • -  Persian Gulf War, 1991 -- Personal Narratives
  • -  United States. Army.

Form

  • DVD

Extent

  • 1 item

Repository

  • Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Gender

  • Male

Race

  • Black or African American

Status

  • Veteran

Service History

  • Peacekeeping forces--Bosnia and Hercegovina

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: Chief of Operations, Multinational Division North
    • Location of Service: Bosnia-Herzegovina
    • Entrance into Service: Commissioned
    • Military Status: Veteran

  • Iraq War, 2003-2011

    • Service History Note: The veteran served as Special Assistant to the Commanding General, United States Army Pacific. He was injured by a roadside bomb attack in Baghdad.
    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: 5th Battalion, 18th Field Artillery, III Corps; 82nd Airborne Division; 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment; 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment; 2nd Battalion, 11th Field Artillery
    • Location of Service: Alexandria, Virginia; Fort Shafter, Hawaii; Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Fort Sill, Oklahoma; Fort Belvoir, Virginia
    • Highest Rank: Colonel
    • Entrance into Service: Commissioned
    • Military Status: Veteran

  • Afghan War, 2001-

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division; 75th Field Artillery Brigade, 25th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division
    • Location of Service: Afghanistan
    • Entrance into Service: Enlisted
    • Military Status: Veteran

  • Persian Gulf War, 1991

    • Branch of Service: Army
    • Unit of Service: 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment
    • Location of Service: Saudi Arabia
    • Dates of Service: 1989-2014
    • Entrance into Service: Commissioned
    • Military Status: Veteran

Materials

  • Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 12/01/2016)

Collection Number

  • AFC/2001/001/106924

Cite as

  • Gregory Dimitri Gadson Collection (AFC/2001/001/106924), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Online Format

  • image
  • online text
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

Rights & Access

Using VHP Material in Publication or Exhibition

The Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress collects, preserves and makes accessible the firsthand recollections of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through more recent conflicts and peacekeeping missions, so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand what they saw, did and felt during their service. The Veterans History Project Collection includes oral histories along with documentary materials such as original letters, diaries, photographs, and memoirs.

Veterans and interviewers contribute these materials to the Library for scholarly and educational purposes, retaining any copyright they may hold. Therefore, permission must be obtained before using the interview or other materials in exhibition or publication. Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these materials should contact the Veterans History Project for assistance.

As a publicly supported institution, the Library generally does not own rights to material in its collections. Therefore, it does not charge permission fees for use of such material and cannot give or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute material in its collections. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item from the Library’s collections and for securing any necessary permissions rests with persons desiring to use the item.

Please contact us with questions.

Obtaining Copies of VHP Materials

In order for VHP materials to be duplicated, we must receive written permission from the interviewee for you to obtain a copy of the recording unless the proposed use is limited to personal use, research, or other uses permissible by copyright law. If the interviewee is deceased, their next-of-kin may grant written permission.

Please contact VHP for assistance if you need to contact a veteran for permission to use their materials in exhibition or publication, or if you have received permission from the veteran and need access to high-resolution copies of VHP collection materials.

Citing VHP Materials

Please use the following formats when citing Veterans History Project materials (substituting the appropriate name and collection ID number).

Materials as a whole:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Manuscript material:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Memoirs (MS02), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Transcript (MS04), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Correspondence (MS01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Recording:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Audio recording (SR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Video recording (MV01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Photograph:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Photographs (PH01), photographer unknown, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.
  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Photographs (PH03-PH14), Ralph Williams photographer, Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Computer file:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Computer file (CF01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Artifact:

  • John P. Snodgrass (AFC 2001/001/xxxx), Artifact (AR01), Veterans History Project Collection, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Durand, Judith, Gregory Dimitri Gadson, Dajdpr / New York Institute Of Technology, and Daryl Williams. Gregory Dimitri Gadson Collection. 1989. Personal Narrative. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.106924/.

APA citation style:

Durand, J., Gadson, G. D., Dajdpr / New York Institute Of Technology & Williams, D. (1989) Gregory Dimitri Gadson Collection. [Personal Narrative] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.106924/.

MLA citation style:

Durand, Judith, et al. Gregory Dimitri Gadson Collection. 1989. Personal Narrative. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afc2001001.106924/>.